Deadline: January 31, 2016
Payment: $10
Reprints Allowed

Anthologists: Laura Harvey and Sarena Ulibarri

With Specter Spectacular III, we hope to expand on the previous volumes of “ghostly” tales and “deathly” tales by delving into the realm of “uncanny” tales. Many of these will be similar to what you’ve seen in previous volumes: ghosts, poltergeists, psychopomps, psychic mediums. But the idea of the uncanny opens up additional possibilities: creepy doppelgängers, too-close-to-human robots, changeling intruders, cryptid animals, jarring juxtapositions. Leave your clichés at the door and show us fresh and fascinating new tales.

The essence of the uncanny is an unsettled feeling, a sense that something isn’t quite right, often coupled with an inability to articulate exactly why. Our tastes lean more toward the psychological than toward gore, especially for this volume. We’re looking for a wide range of interpretations and a balance of styles and tones (serious, humorous, modern, historical, futuristic, mythological, gothic, etc.). We aim for the same high quality of stories that appeared in Specter Spectacular I and II.

Rights and compensation: Payment: $10 + paperback copy of the anthology. We will consider new and reprinted works in English. For previously unpublished works: Seeking first world rights in English and exclusive right to publish in print and electronic format for six months after publication date, after which publisher retains nonexclusive right to continue to publish for life of the anthology. For reprints: Seeking non-exclusive right to publish in print and electronic formats for life of anthology. Preference for stories which have not been anthologized previously.

Open submission period: October 1, 2015 – January 31, 2016.

Length: Under 10,000 words.

Submission method: Paste the story into the body of the e-mail message. Include the approximate word count. Subject line: SSIII– [Story Title]. Send submission to: submissions[at]worldweaverpress[dot]com.

Simultaneous submissions = okay. Sending us many submissions at once = no.

Previous anthologies in the Specter Spectacular series

• Specter Spectacular: 13 Ghostly Tales
• Specter Spectacular: 13 Deathly Tales (coming late 2016)

Via: World Weaver Press.